Talisker Corporation moves to evict PCMR in a matter of days

Resort says it will not relent to 'Vail's bullying' as the lawsuit continues

Jay Hamburger, THE PARK RECORD

Posted:
08/28/2013 07:45:18 PM MDT

A firm under the Talisker Corporation umbrella on Wednesday served Park City Mountain Resort with a notice to leave the premises, giving the resort five days, until Monday, to move off most of the land where PCMR operates.

In two documents delivered to the PCMR side, an entity called Talisker Land Holdings, LLC outlines the move toward an eviction, calling PCMR a tenant and that the tenancy is being terminated.

The documents are addressed to John Cumming, who is the chairman and CEO of firm tied to PCMR called Greater Park City Company, PCMR lead attorney Alan Sullivan and Matt Ireland, who is the president of another firm tied to PCMR called Greater Properties, Inc.

It was an extraordinary move that immediately heightened what was already a tense several weeks between the two sides in a lawsuit about the land. The lawsuit, which was filed by the PCMR side, centers on the resort's attempt to extend the lease in 2011.

Jenni Smith, the president and general manager of PCMR, issued a prepared statement Wednesday evening tying the notice to Vail Resorts. The Colorado company is leading the lawsuit efforts as part of an agreement to operate Canyons Resort.

"Vail's eviction notice is nothing more than a bald-faced attempt to circumvent the litigation already in process and interfere with our business. We will not give in to Vail's bullying and intend to conduct business as usual for the 2013-14 season," Smith said in the statement.

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The Talisker Corporation side says PCMR did not extend the lease by the deadline and earlier won the dismissal of key points in the PCMR lawsuit. There was a highly charged exchange of correspondences in the last 10 days, meanwhile, with the Talisker Corporation side claiming that the PCMR side had put an earlier date on a critical letter that PCMR had seen as its confirmation of the extension in 2011.

In one of the Wednesday documents, the Talisker Corporation cites the letter in saying that "we have now discovered and forced you to admit that you intentionally backdated that letter."

"You now claim that the backdating of this document was a mistake for which you apologize. We do not view the intentional backdating of a formal notice you thought was critical to be merely a mistake and an apology delivered after over two years have gone by rings hollow," the document says. "Backdating a document is a tactic solely used to deceive a business partner."

The document also says: "Despite our dispute and us not receiving a fair rent from you, we have made every effort to be constructive and patient with this process, because we know how important this situation is to the community in which we both operate. Unfortunately this is no longer just a good faith disagreement, but a question of how you have chosen to do business. Your backdating of this notice and your apparent efforts to keep it hidden force us to take a different approach to our dispute and long-term relationship."

Both of the documents are signed by Fiona Arnold, identified as the manager of a firm called Talisker Land Resolution, LLC. Arnold has also previously been named as a Vail Resorts executive and attorney.

In one of the Wednesday documents, called a notice to quit, the Talisker Corporation side says the PCMR leases, which date to the 1970s, expired on April 30, 2011. The document says ski lifts and other improvements will belong to a Talisker Corporation firm, but the PCMR side will be given 60 days to retrieve personal property and equipment that is not attached to the land.

The document says if PCMR does not comply, an unlawful detainer case could be brought against the resort in court.

The land involved in the dispute covers approximately 3,700 acres of the resort's terrain. The PCMR base area, the parking lots and the Town Lift base are under the ownership of the resort and are not part of the litigation or the Talisker Corporation side's Wednesday notice. Some of the ski terrain on the lower portion of the resort is also not involved.

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